her-047 Fall 2009 v23n2.qxp 9/11/09 12:04 PM Page C1 PINK PANTY THE WOMEN’S FALL OF PROTEST MOVEMENT PATRIARCHY INDIA PUB ATTACK IS THERE ROOM ANGERS WOMEN FOR MEN? IMMINENT WOMEN’S NEWS & FEMINIST VIEWS Fall 2009 Vol. 23 No. 2 Made in Canada AFGHANAFGHAN WOMENWOMEN STAND STRONG AGAINST SHIA LALAWW NEPALINEPALI WOMENWOMEN FIGHTFIGHT FORFOR CONSTITUTIONALCONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTSRIGHTS $6.75 Canada/US Publications Mail Agreement No. 40008866; PAP Registration No. 07944 Return Undeliverable Addresses to: PO Box 128, Winnipeg, MB R3C 2G1 Canada Display until December 15, 2009 her-047 Fall 2009 v23n2.qxp 9/10/09 1:03 PM Page C2 Joss Maclennan Design, CEP Local 591-G Joss Maclennan Design, CEP Local 591-G CAWCAW womenwomen WeWe marchmarch forfor equality. equality. WeWe speakspeak outout for for justice. justice. We fight for change. We fight for change. For more information on women’s Forissues more and information rights please on visit women’s issueswww.caw.ca/women and rights please visit www.caw.ca/women CAW Full Sum-09.indd 1 28/05/09 5:19 PM her-047 Fall 2009 v23n2.qxp 9/11/09 12:05 PM Page 1 FALL 2009 / VOLUME 23 NO. 2 news THE MOTHER OF ALL MUSEUMS 6 by Janet Nicol TEL AVIV SHOOTING IGNITES GAY RIGHTS 7 by Idit Cohen TIANANMEN MOTHERS REFUSE TO FORGET 22: Yvette Nolan 8 by Janet Nicol NEPALI WOMEN DEMAND EQUALITY 9 by Chelsea Jones 12 CAMPAIGN UPDATES PARENTING BILL WOULD ERODE RIGHTS 13 by Pamela Cross features IS FEMINISM MEN’S WORK, TOO? 16 It’s not called the women’s movement for nothing. But whose job is it to dismantle patriarchal privilege? Is there a role for men in our movement? by Mandy van Deven 30: Catherine MacLellan STAGING OUR STORIES 22 A profile of playwright Yvette Nolan, who recently remounted the 1967 classic The Ecstasy of Rita Joe with an all-Aboriginal creative team. by Shawna Dempsey STANDING THEIR GROUND 26 With no burqas or husbands in sight, hundreds of women bravely took to the streets of Kabul this summer in peaceful demonstrations to protest the regressive Shia Personal Status law. What did they gain? by Lauryn Oates CATHERINE MACLELLAN 30 Music, motherhood in harmony for musician Catherine MacLellan by Brett Bundale PINK PROTEST PASSIONATE 32 As women in India launch a public campaign to defend their rights, the traditional roles of men and women are slowly changing. by Kaj Hasselriis 32: Pink Protest Passionate HERIZONS FALL 2009 1 her-047 Fall 2009 v23n2.qxp 9/10/09 1:03 PM Page 2 VOLUME 23 NO. 2 MAGAZINE INK MANAGING EDITOR: Penni Mitchell FULFILLMENT AND OFFICE MANAGER: Phil Koch ACCOUNTANT: Sharon Pchajek BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Ghislaine Alleyne, Phil Koch, Penni Mitchell, Kemlin Nembhard, Valerie Regehr EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Ghislaine Alleyne, Gio Guzzi, Penni Mitchell, Kemlin Nembhand ADVERTISING SALES: Penni Mitchell (204) 774-6225 DESIGN: inkubator.ca RETAIL INQUIRIES: Disticor (905) 619-6565 PROOFREADER: Phil Koch COVER: Fakhria Ibrahimi HERIZONS is published four times per year by HERIZONS Inc. in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. One-year subscription price: $26.19 plus $1.31 GST = $27.50 in Canada. Subscriptions to U.S. add $8.00. International subscriptions add $9.00. Cheques or money orders are payable to: HERIZONS, PO Box 128, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA R3C 2G1. 36: Regina Spektor Ph (204) 774-6225. SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES: [email protected] EDITORIAL INQUIRIES: [email protected] arts & ideas ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.herizons.ca MUSIC MUST-HAVES HERIZONS is indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index. 36 Lily Alen, Regina Spektor, Indigo Girls, GST #R131089187. ISSN 0711-7485. Ina Unt Ina, Erica Azim The purpose of HERIZONS is to empower women; to inspire hope and foster a state of wellness that enriches women’s lives; to build FALL READING awareness of issues as they affect women; to promote the 38 African Love Stories edited by Ama Ata Aidoo, strength, wisdom and creativity of women; to broaden the bound- Half World by Hiromi Goto, Losing Confidence aries of feminism to include building coalitions and support among by Elizabeth May, I am Hutterite by Mary-Anne other marginalized people; to foster peace and ecological aware- Kirkby, The Mean Girl Motive by Nicole Landry, ness; and to expand the influence of feminist principles in the Shary Boyle: Otherworld Uprising, by Shary world. HERIZONS aims to reflect a feminist philosophy that is Boyle, Minds of Our Own edited by M. Luxton, diverse, understandable and relevant to women’s daily lives. W. Robbins, M. Eichler and F. Descarries, Until Views expressed in HERIZONS are those of the writers and do not Our Hearts are on the Ground edited by Memee necessarily reflect HERIZONS’ editorial policy. No material may be Lavell and Jeanette Corbiere Lavell. reprinted without permission. Due to limited resources, HERIZONS does not accept poetry or fiction submissions. HERIZONS acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publication columns Assistance Program (PAP) and the Canada Magazine Fund toward our mailing and editorial costs. PENNI MITCHELL 5 The Unstoppable Women of Asia HERIZONS gratefully acknowledges the support of the Manitoba Arts Council. SUSAN G. COLE Publications Mail Agreement No. 40008866, PAP Registration No. 15 Michael Jackson’s Swan Song 07944. Return Undeliverable Addresses to: PO Box 128, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3C 2G1, Email: [email protected] LYN COCKBURN Herizons is proudly printed on Forest Stewardship Coun- 48 Fall of Patriarchy Imminent cil-certified paper. Please recyle. 2 FALL 2009 HERIZONS her-047 Fall 2009 v23n2.qxp 9/11/09 12:06 PM Page 3 letters KEEP RAISING I hope that Ms. Suek is able to find the funding she needs to get her THE ROOF initiative off the ground. I was very pleased to MELINDA ROBINSON read Beverly Suek’s arti- Etobicoke, ON cle on seniors’ living in the Summer issue of GIRLS’ ANGER Herizons. It is a timely REVISITED and important subject, I’ve worked as a counsel- one that communities, lor at a women’s centre governments and individuals are not addressing soon enough. and now as a consultant I, like most of my contemporaries, would like to be independent as on Aboriginal education long as possible. The independence I seek includes a strong sense of in a Winnipeg school divi- community and shared lives. I have never understood why we want to sion. I really enjoyed your live so isolated from one another, eating alone, gardening alone, cook- article in the Spring issue ing and cleaning alone. For me, community is shared meals, shared of Herizons on girls’ anger. It reminded me of what I wanted/needed as a tasks, caring for one another. What I am finding as I talk to my con- girl/young woman and did not get, and it inspires and encourages me temporaries about how they plan to live as we age is that they want to with the work I do for so many young Aboriginal women and girls. maintain their independence as long as possible. I believe we can only As an Aboriginal person, I am happy to now be able to equip myself do that by looking at options such as co-housing, co-operative living with more language on defining and validating my own anger that is and shared resources. still left over from experiences of racism, classism and sexism when I These are all things that can free us from isolation and could allow was young. us to remain independent into old age. I would be more than happy to Thank you so much for all the excellent feminist work you are doing. give up some of my privacy for the opportunity to share meals, activi- The girl I used to be thanks you too, for the empowerment—permis- ties and care with those I choose to live with, rather than in a sion, even—to voice her anger bravely and unapologetically. government- or privately owned institution, where my choices will be LISA AYMONT HUNTER non-existent. St. Andrews, MB It is time for society and governments to rethink housing. Do we all need to be alone behind locked doors? Why not provide funding and SMOKING FACTOR IGNORED creativity to retrofitting some of the monster houses of the ’80s and We are writing in response to the editorial in the Summer Herizons, ’90s into co-housing for seniors. As we age, quality of life is far more “Ten ways to fight breast cancer,” by Penni Mitchell. important than square footage. We found it regrettable that the article did not address the role of JOAN FROMMER active smoking and second-hand smoke as modifiable risk factors for Perth, ON breast cancer. We refer the author to the 2009 Report of the Canadian Expert Panel on Tobacco and Breast Cancer Risk, which concluded HURRAH FOR HOUSING REFORM that women, particularly young women who smoke, as well as those I just got my copy of the summer issue of Herizons. I absolutely loved who are routinely exposed to second-hand smoke, face a significantly the article on housing for senior women—this is something that we higher risk of developing breast cancer. went through with my husband’s grandmother. She had been living Without the mention of the dangers of smoking and second-hand with us but was getting too old for the staircases, and she wanted to smoke exposure, the author has not provided an accurate health mes- be with women closer to her own age—she’s 94, so it’s not an espe- sage to women. cially large demographic. Abstaining from smoking and second-hand smoke should definitely One of the places that we looked at was a horrible nursing home, be at the top of Mitchell’s fight breast cancer list.